PAULA PASCHE: Lions draft big on upside, short on experience WITH VIDEO

Ezekiel Ansah, from Brigham Young, holds up a team jersey after being selected fifth overall by the Detroit Lions in the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2013, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

Mississippi State's Darius Slay speaks during a news conference after being selected 36th overall by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2013, at Radio City Music Hall in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)

ALLEN PARK -- The word of the weekend at the Detroit Lions draft was "upside."

It was not experience.

It started with the first overall pick defensive end Ziggy Ansah who has played football for three years, was a starter for one in 2012 and saw his first football game in 2008 on his arrival at BYU from his native Ghana. Upside with a capital 'U.'

Cornerback Darius Slay, a junior college transfer, had one year as a starter at Mississippi State. Nothing but upside.

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Punter Sam Martin was a kicker in his senior year of high school, didn't start punting until he arrived at Appalachian State and then didn't punt well until his senior season. Improvement means upside.

Wide receiver Corey Fuller started on a track scholarship at Kansas, after two years walked on at Virginia Tech and was a starter just for one season. Speedy upside.

That's just a hint of what to expect from the nine players the Lions drafted over the three-day period.

Upside.

Is that good enough?

Well, it's just part of the equation. Ansah and Slay were not only the best players available, but they filled distinct needs.

"When you draft a guy like Ziggy Ansah you want to understand where he is and how quickly he can get up to speed,'' general manager Martin Mayhew said. "We felt comfortable with that from working with him at the Senior Bowl, from talking with his head coach. We know what kind of guy he is.

"There were some raw players out there who were raw who we didn't feel comfortable with and we didn't take. The ones we take, we think those guys are going to be very involved,'' Mayhew added.

In general Mayhew seemed pleased with this draft class.

"I just think they all sort of fit into the mold of what we said we wanted when we started this process, it just kind of fell that way,'' Mayhew said. "We were able to get some guys with length on the defensive line, very athletic guys, we got some fast guys that can run. We really have improved ourself, we got healthy guys, we got younger. We feel good about it.''

Of course 31 other NFL general managers feel the same way today.

"It's that way every year,'' Mayhew said. "You draft guys, you've done all the work, you feel good about them, you bring them into mini-camp and OTAs (organized team activities) you get a better feel for them, you see how they fit into our defense and our offense. It's a learning process with them as they move forward.''

Mayhew is not done with the roster, he's never done.

It's a fluid process.

While he filled some big holes, he'll fill the roster in with some free agents in upcoming weeks and months.